28 Android security apps tested

[CORRECTION] Applying some of the more than 1.5 million new Android malware samples found this year, independent lab AV-Test compares Android solutions. They also look at usability, impact on system performance and other security features.

[CORRRECTION: An earlier version of this story mistakenly swapped some of the vendor names in the table at the bottom. We apologize.]

The problem of malware on Android is a controversial one: Clearly there is a lot of malware — AV-Test says that in November of this year they received about 6,000 unique samples per day, for a so-far total in 2013 of over 1.5 million — but there isn't as widespread a perception of the need for security products as there is, for instance, on Windows.

The quality of the Android security products tested has gone up from their last evaluation: The average detection rate was 96.6%, over 6% better than the last test. There were only a few false positives, only a few products performed poorly, and 8 products got essentially a perfect score. The detection tests were performed against a set of 2,124 malicious apps.

AV-Test looked at more than just malware detection. Nearly all of the products have some additional security feature like anti-theft, backup and encryption. Their usability tests used the following criteria:

Performance: The app does not impact the battery life

Performance: The app does not slow down the device during normal usage

Performance: The app does not generate too much traffic

False warnings during installation of legitimate software from Google Play and their usage

False warnings during installation of legitimate software from 3rd party app stores and their usage

Many products have free and paid versions with different features, but the range of feature differences between the free and paid versions is large. Make sure to look at the products carefully if this matters to you.

The non-detection features AV-Test looked for were:

Anti-Theft (Remote-Lock / Remote-Wipe / Locate): Locate, Lock or Wipe your device when it is lost or stolen